keep to (something or oneself)

keep to (something or oneself)

1. To adhere to something, such as a plan or a rule; to stick to something. Please keep to the plan, and everything will go smoothly.How can I trust you if you never keep to your promises?

2. To stay somewhere or to not go away or far from somewhere, typically because of some restriction. Keep to the front yard, kids—I don't want to see you running in the street.The princess hated that she always had to keep to the castle.

3. To refrain from attempting to communicate or make connections with others. If you want to make friends, you can't keep to yourself all the time. Start meeting people!The old man down the street always keeps to himself. I just realized I don't even know his name.

keep to oneself

1. Also, keep oneself to oneself. Shun the company of others, value one's privacy, as in She kept to herself all morning, or, as Doris Lessing put it in In Pursuit of the English (1960): "She keeps herself to herself so much." [Late 1600s]

2. Refrain from revealing, hold secret, as in He promised to keep the news to himself. Also see the synonym keep under one's hat.

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